Pharmaceutical company McKesson inks deal for NRG solar project

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Dive Brief:

NRG Energy and McKesson on Monday announced a long-term agreement under which the pharmaceutical distributor will purchase energy from a solar plant NRG will build.

The installation will be a roughly 3 MW solar facility on McKesson’s distribution center in Robbinsville, N.J., that is slated to come online in 2018.

McKesson says the next phase of its sustainability program calls for developing additional solar arrays on McKesson distribution centers in the U.S.

Dive Insight:

Corporate power purchase agreements became a driving factor in wind power in 2015, outpacing utility PPAs. Since then, however, declines in solar costs have moved solar PPAs up in corporate buying.

A recent report by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that corporate procurement of utility-scale solar power has grown from less than 1% of annual installed utility-scale capacity in 2014 to 9% in 2016 and 17% in early 2017.

McKesson says the new PPA with NRG is just the first step in a multi-phase plan to expand its environmental sustainability efforts while driving cost efficiencies over the long term. In addition to generating environmental benefits, McKesson says the solar arrays will reduce costs while producing electricity equal to about 74% of the New Jersey facility’s annual electrical consumption.

“McKesson’s commitment to renewable energy is an integral part of our sustainability strategy as well as our focus on improving operational efficiency and driving shareholder value,” Michael Huaco, senior vice president and global head of real estate at McKesson, said in a statement.